-k4lD-U204025897261YmH-250x250%40HT-Web.jpg "Shoba Narayan")
Shoba Narayan is Bangalore-based award-winning author. She is also a freelance contributor who writes about art, food, fashion and travel for a number of publications.
Articles by Shoba Narayan
Why are hospital billing systems so bad?
In India, we blame the victim. Visiting relatives walk in and say, “Arrey, why did you fall?” As if it was done on purpose. “In the future, tell yourself that you will not slip,” they advise.
Published on May 05, 2022 12:28 AM IST
Artistes are learning to pivot during pandemic
While technology can enhance many experiences – learning a language for instance is just as easily done online – it does the performance arts a disservice.
Published on Apr 21, 2022 12:25 AM IST
Tambli: One dish with multiple tasty variations
Tambli or Thambuli is made using herbs and curds. It can be of a thickish texture or buttermilk consistency. I have made it with the brahmi leaf, which has medicinal values. My friends, who grew up in Shivamogga district, talk about kids being compulsorily given this brahmi leaf infused Tambli dish in the early years to improve their memory.
Published on Apr 07, 2022 12:39 AM IST
Best of city’s eateries beyond their ratings
Where do the young and restless go to enjoy food and drinks in Bengaluru?
Let’s face it
Published on Mar 25, 2022 12:21 AM IST
Karnataka, a state that enjoys culinary diversity
When I moved here some fifteen years ago, I used to get confused between Uttara Karnataka and Uttara Kannada.
Updated on Mar 10, 2022 04:36 PM IST
Where to get the best masala dosas in Bengaluru
Bengaluru loves its idli-dosa-vada-coffee breakfast for sure, but in this city, the masala dosa is not the default choice.
Updated on Feb 24, 2022 10:17 AM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Reflecting on the march past
In the days leading up to Republic Day or Independence Day, life in school was punctuated by the sound of the drum, the waving of the flag and the yelling of the teacher
Published on Feb 01, 2022 02:13 PM IST
Wellness: Mom and dad, you need therapy
A study points out that one in seven Indians are affected by mental health issues. This may be due to generations of repression
Updated on Jan 23, 2022 09:55 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Covid takeaways and New Year resolutions
The new year has turned. Omicron still looms. We are asking ourselves and others about resolutions and Covid takeaways. What changed in our lives? What remained constant?
Published on Jan 20, 2022 06:32 PM IST
Some creative ways to celebrate the New Year’s
Julie Kagti, textile artist: My suggestion would be a quiet sit-down 7-course dinner at Grasshopper, located in a family-run farm on Bannerghatta road. A few good friends and family, where the wine and conversation flows easy. End with a nightcap by a bonfire recapping the highlights of the year late into the night.
Published on Dec 30, 2021 12:43 AM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Women, Work and the Covid-19 pandemic
In the throes of the lockdown, a strange event happened in our privileged apartment community in Bengaluru. What was strange was how normal we thought it to be at that time.
Published on Dec 19, 2021 05:27 PM IST
When did wealth become a measure of the worth of a man?
Every professional I meet at Bengaluru’s great companies, be it Titan or Flipkart, have their “origin tales” of how they struggled and succeeded. Equally, all of us, me included, now lead lives, where we do everything we can so that our kids don’t struggle
Published on Dec 02, 2021 12:58 AM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Do women in power make you uncomfortable?
Privilege is a strange thing. Those who have it take it for granted, don’t even realize its aura because they are surrounded by this. It is only when you are stripped away of your privileges that you feel the pain of those who don’t have it.
Updated on Nov 18, 2021 01:03 AM IST
Puneeth Rajkumar and the limits of stardom
“The death of a Bollywood actor does this-- we know. But Puneeth Rajkumar seemed to wear his fame lighter than most.”
Published on Nov 04, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Growing up Karanth: A biography worth reading
It takes us inside the life and mind of the Karanth family. It shows us how they lived, the kinds of food they ate, the animals they kept, and the connections they fostered.
Published on Oct 21, 2021 12:25 AM IST
Unpacking the diverse, emotive world of emojis
There is an emoji that has baffled me for a while
Published on Oct 08, 2021 12:07 AM IST
Moral policing in Bengaluru and why I remain hopeful
The only way that this particular moral policing story is different from the countless others that are sprouting up all over India is that it is a social media phenomenon. In case you didn’t know about this viral video, it happened on Friday, September 17 in Bengaluru.
Published on Sep 28, 2021 05:14 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies | Detailing the wonders of fermented pickles, drinks
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, soaking day-old rice overnight, letting it ferment and then drinking it like porridge the following day with pickles is a common practice. Not only does it taste delicious and refreshing, it also fills you up without making you feel bloated or heavy
Published on Sep 22, 2021 10:03 AM IST
Bangalore Talkies | A local snack that only a few have heard of
If I say “kodubale, anyone?” all I get is a “Huh?” or a “Kodu-what?” Which is a shame because this snack, much like Congress peanuts, or avarekalu mixture is beloved in Bengaluru and all over Karnataka
Published on Sep 03, 2021 04:47 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies | The city’s favourite monsoon snack— nippattu
All over Bengaluru these days, you see copious and heavy rain clouds that shed their weight through day and night. We are all stuck at home. Naturally, we reach for the much-loved snack that we call nippattu
Published on Aug 18, 2021 03:55 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: What does Karnataka’s new CM like to dine on?
Through a variety of channels, the answer was the same. He likes Uttara Karnataka’s banana leaf lunches. The ingredients are well-known: jolada-rotti (jowar rotis), badanekayi palya (brinjal sabzi), kadalekai chutney (groundnut chutney) and curd
Published on Jul 30, 2021 04:05 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Gang violence and the new Bengaluru reality
In a story worthy of a Rajinikanth thriller, two women – sisters in law at that – are the main players in a grisly gang murder. On June 24, in the old Bengaluru area of Cottonpete, former councillor Rekha Kadiresh, slated to win the upcoming city council polls, was stabbed to death 17 times on a street
Published on Jul 15, 2021 06:07 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: 36 things to do after the pandemic in Bengaluru
What will you do after Covid? A very specific Bengalurean take
Published on Jul 01, 2021 04:13 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Infighting in apartment complexes
One of the lessons that this virus has taught is about normalcy. One person’s normal is another person’s outrage. This gets compounded in a residential community that can only enforce norms, not laws
Published on Jun 16, 2021 03:45 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Have you exited a WhatsApp group lately?
The trouble with what seems like a never-ending, ever-complicated pandemic is that people get testy and want to place blame somewhere. These days, there is enough blame to go around. We want to blame someone for the vulnerability that we all feel
Published on May 27, 2021 08:49 AM IST
Bangalore Talkies: A glimpse of life under lockdown
These days, messages are raw and vulnerable, pleas and entreaties to the world about saving your children, family and friends. The requests themselves are terse and desperate
Updated on May 13, 2021 04:03 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Conservancies changed face of Malleshwaram
It is art that has drawn me to Malleshwaram several times during Covid. Walking through streets where the artists have painted an ode to their neighbourhood is nothing less than a joyous and healing experience
Published on Apr 28, 2021 05:25 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Moonwalking at night on city streets
Bengaluru’s streets are like moon craters. Why bother with Mars rovers, Shoba Narayan contends, when you can barely walk on Magadi road?
Published on Apr 13, 2021 05:06 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Blooming tabebuias and drooping jacarandas
Shoba Narayan on the lesser-known side of Bengaluru—a city of nature lovers, tree huggers and flower peckers (the bird, not the human)
Published on Mar 25, 2021 05:28 PM IST
Bangalore Talkies: Of hostage negotiators in city markets
Shoba Narayan on taking a crash course in bargaining from Lily Aunty and crashing, but not quite burning, at the actual task
Updated on Mar 23, 2021 02:53 PM IST
